Black and White Photography Blog

Two images used.  1600 ASA.  Both with same EV (so this is really a faux sort of HDR) but with the Image Fusion and  ToneMapping tool in PhotoMatix (I keep wanting to call it PhotoMatrix). But I was able to pull very specific areas from the RAW 40D file.  I never saw those windows with their mosaic-like prints on them when looking at the image in Lightroom or Photoshop.

Can’t wait for the weather to warm up a bit so that I can do more night shots.  In other words, if I knew ahead of time that this was going to be an HDR type shot I would have bracketed it.  And frankly, these shots look better in color than b&w.

I was answering questions for an interview this morning, and remembered a phase I went through when I was 16, where I would take negatives and while they were on a lightbox, I would scratch lines in them with a needle, or sometimes just punch holes in them before printing.  In other words, I’m still the same guy – but the tools have become more sophisticated.

Last weekend, I annoyed the family (as usual) playing around with HDR.  I didn’t have a tripod with me, and the shots that follow were hand-held and auto-bracketed (AEB) with one stop over and one under.  Most of the light was from the window on the right.

Now, on top of being hand-held, what I did was ask the unwilling participants to pretend that this was a hundred years ago, and to hold their breath while I took the three shots.  The three images were then put into PhotoMatix with the Exposure Fusion option and alignment by Matching Feature.  After that they went through Tone-mapping corrections.

As you can see, this method did an incredible job of aligning the three images.  My dad must have been moving his tongue (in the second shot there’s that glint of saliva) – and that’s something that can be fixed in post processing.

These shots (more to come) were simply imported into lightroom and no adjustments were made (other than the crop of the first shot), though I can see a few things that could be easily corrected.  But the point of it all – was that I ended up with images with incredible detail and no noise (shot at 800 ASA) and hand-held.  That was pretty astounding.

Apologies to the family for being such a pain, but the results were worth it.  (Dad, by the way, is 82, and frankly still the easiest subject to photograph).

I also have tons of tripod night shots where I’d do bracketing that have been just sitting in the catalog for a long time because of dynamic range issues.  So there’s a lot for me to experiment with.

This is a shot from Halloween in Union Square – 2004 – that I just had all sorts of problems with in terms of dynamic range, and noise.  I just processed this by making three virtual files in Lightroom, one under, one normal and one over (from the same raw file) and then ran through image fusion and image mapping in PhotoMatix Pro (which I just bought for $99).

No adjustments after that in Lightroom, though I can see a few things that I would change.  The point being that it’s quite plausible to work from one raw file with their tonemapping process and achieve better results than I was ever able to get through photoshop.  It gives you control over things like specular highlights – smoothing them out, or sharpening them as needed, and similar options for detail in the darker areas.  I am using the Lightroom plugin, which is included with the Pro version.

You select your files and use File/Plugin Extras and export to Photomatix.  From there you have two basic ways to go, HDR or Image Fusion.  You’ll have to read through their documentation which is very good to see the differences, but so far Image Fusion has worked well for me, especially with shots where there is movement.  I have a bunch of shots that I wasn’t able to get acceptable results from that I’m going to try this method on.

HDR Church (53rd street) pre-dawn.

I became interested in HDR a few weeks ago when I used it for a client project. Yesterday, before dawn, I set out to 57th street (by cab) with tripod, and camera set to AEB (auto bracketing) in steps of 1 stop, and wandered around midtown until it started to snow and I was getting snow on the lens. I did quite a few that morning, and am just starting to go through them now. It is a very intriguing technique, and one of the few times where the colors are pleasing to me and the shots look better in color than b&w. At least at this early stage.

There is another program that Brent recommended for HDR (http://www.hdrsoft.com/) that I’m going to download to try. The one thing that doesn’t work well with Photoshop HDR are things like shooting directly into headlights, even if they’re still I get a strange chroma mismatch when Photoshop merges the three images. But I returned with a lot to play with. This is with the 40d and the 30mm sigma, 800 ASA, f5.6, middle shot at 4 seconds.

There was no reason to shoot at asa 800 other than that I was half asleep, and didn’t check the asa settings. Being able to use auto bracketing, which I never used before, was a nice touch and one the reasons I’m drawn to the slr camera type – there’s always some feature that I never touched that comes in handy down the line. One other note: there is not a touch of noise in the hdr merged shot and I have added a lot of contrast. In other words, the original shot picked up every bit of the darker areas to the point where I had to bring them down, and all but the specular highlights are caught as well. The histogram looks like you were shooting a gray card. This was shot at 6:29 a.m. – which is to say just before dawn.

P.S. If you go to leave a comment, the title is going to be Tango something or other and I don’t know why.  So just pretend it’s the right title and go ahead.

I just added a new section to the store – ROMANCE and added this shot (infrared film with modified infrared flash).  I had originally thought I could do it in time for Valentine’s Day but frankly I don’t think I could get prints out in time for Valentine’s Day – at least not this year.  Yes, I continue to have about all the work I can handle right now.  But maybe someone will like it for an anniversary gift or just as a gift for any old reason. The ROMANCE CATEGORY.

At any rate, it is certainly rare in terms of how it was done – i.e. using a flash that was modified to only emit infrared light, with HIE film (which I don’t think is made any longer).

And speaking of selling stuff — one thing that’s been on my mind is that I should of course have a newsletter like everyone else.  I’ve found that not everyone uses or understands RSS feeds and so it could be setup (if the user wants it) to drop an email off when new prints are added to the store; or when I have a sale or some wonderful thing has happened that people might like to know about.

On the other hand – I have the blog setup so that it tweets new blog posts and maybe that’s enough.

Maybe.  It’s in good condition.  The LCD has scuff marks on it, but I only saw them when I went looking for them.  Comes with extra battery, battery charger, manual (thumbed through many times), no box, body only, body cap, the Canon software (never opened since I never use that stuff), strap, cables, and one extra thing – the cable release for it.

Unfortunately when you switch to the next model – the cable release and batteries are different.  Hate when they do that.

The body itself doesn’t have any marks on it that I can see.  But let’s face it – it is a well used camera, though not like it was used for wedding photography.  I’m going to try and figure out how many actuations  by looking at the start and end number in Lightroom (it’s on continuous numbering system) and also when I bought it.

As a benchmark, I ran it through the B&H used equipment page which gives a quote of somewhere between $350 and $400 depending on whether it’s a 3 or 4 on their scale.

I was thinking that for $450 or so I could use that money for the next camera and it might make the difference between the 7d or 5dII.  On the other hand, it’s still a good backup camera to have around so I’m not sure if it’s worth selling or not…

What’s going on is that I’m finally finishing up the last two big orders, and it would be nice to double the amount of pixels I’ve got.  Not that you can’t do a lot with this guy if you a) shoot at a low ASA and then run it through HDR or an extrapolation program which is how I ended up doing the 40 x 60 inch print recently.  But if I want to shoot at a higher ASA it’s a stretch (no pun intended) to get to 40 x 60.  What I like about it, is that even when there is noise, say at 800 ASA, it is a pleasant almost filmlike design.  Of course that’s a subjective thing, but I’ve read others say similar things about the noise structure.

And of course, it is in perfect working condition, but it would have to be bought as is – i.e. if it breaks in a few months – then I can’t offer a warranty.  If you’re in the neighborhood and would like to see it first – that’s fine – depending on your offer and whether you guys talk me out of it in the meantime.

db

Any interest – let me know.

p.s. MAYBE I SHOULD’VE CALLED THIS: HELP ME!  STOP ME BEFORE I DO SOMETHING DUMB.  And thankfully, you have done the job.  I need a kick sometimes to get me back on the straight and narrow.

As you might have discovered, it’s a good idea to let your fine art inkjet prints dry before they’re stuck in frames.  Depending on the ink / paper combination this can take various times but if you use a paper that takes a while to fully absorb the ink, you’ll end up with vapors being trapped in the frame if you frame them too soon.  In my case, I have two issues, one is that there’s cat hair floating around, and even one hair landing on a print while it’s fresh out of the printer will ruin the print.  Well maybe not always, it depends on where it lands.  If the print (I’m using Epson Exhibition F Gloss paper with K3 inks) is still wet and it lands in a dark area, I have never been able to remove it without pulling up ink at the same time.  If it lands in a very light area, then you’ve got a good chance.

At any rate, the paper is expensive, and it takes a long time to do big prints, and you just don’t want to have to do it all over again.

I divide the process into two parts – drying and curing.

I purchased boxes from Uline which come flat, and fold into 24 x 28 x 4 inches high.  Close and tape one end of the box.  I also bought cardboard pads that are 24 x 30 inches.  This is the size of the largest paper I use.

Since I don’t want to have the prints sitting on cardboard for various reasons – not exactly acid-free, and cardboard isn’t smooth; I also bought a roll of acid-free glassine paper and cut sheets the size of the cardboard sliders that will go into the boxes.  I staple the paper to the cardboard.

After that it’s just a matter of stacking the cardboard boxes somewhere that the cat can’t get to them and tape them all together into one unit.

It’s not perfect because two inches of the print stick out of the box.  On the other hand they get enough air (I happen to have a ceiling fan which helps) and it’s a good way to prevent particles from falling on the paper while it’s still remotely wet.

After two days of drying, I can then cut sheets of the glassine paper to stick between the prints and stack about ten prints in one of the original Epson paper boxes.

The system works pretty well because it’s sort of like sliding pizza into an oven.  The cardboard / glassine board serves to help make sure you don’t bend the big paper while you are placing it (often from a ladder) into the drying boxes, and then later when you are removing the inkjets you just take it out on the cardboard pad with glassine.

It is of course extremely cheap, and even in my tiny apartment, I’ve made two stacks of cartons so far, each six high, and I have space to do another two stacks if I need to.  In other words, with this Po Boy system I can have 24 prints drying at any one time.

Later, when it comes time to shipping, the original Epson box makes a great inner container (it has a cardboard buffer and comes with three sheets of 24 x 30 inch cardboard for the top and bottom.  You then need a larger flat box so that you can wrap the Epson box with bubble wrap and stick it into the outer box.  Pretty sturdy way to get out a bunch of large prints.

Six drying cartons with a few sliders left sticking out. (Beautiful – eh?)

Still in the middle of doing nothing but printing, but I do come across older shots worth a post. Hope this is okay with you Matt.  Oh that’s right – it’s not new, but I don’t think I posted it before.  I hope not to get flack from defenders of the homeless.

Since I’m at this for a long time,  I thought I’d write a bit about my favorite suppliers.

1. ULINE.COM

Stuff I regularly buy: Cardboard, cardboard and more cardboard.  Fragile Don’t Drop stickers.  Tons of packaging tape and dispensers.  White gloves. Mailers and more mailers.

What I like about them I can say in a few words: If you place an order before 5 p.m. you are almost 100% sure it will arrive via ground the following day.  The web site keeps track of the items you’ve ordered, so for me, that’s a great plus as I’m basically ordering the same stuff over and over. The strategy they use is having warehouses all over the country, so this cuts down on shipping costs, and enables the ultra quick delivery.

They tell you how much the package will weigh, which is a big deal for me since the UPS guy often begs for help schlepping it up the two flights to my apartment; and it’s nice to know ahead of time if I’m going to be schlepping with him.

It’s not a place to order five cartons.  In fact I don’t think you can order five cartons.  Most cardboard is going to be 40 or 50 items at a time.  They get five Beckerman stars and have no faults that I can see.  During the recession they began to waive UPS over-sized shipping prices which was a time for me to stock up on stuff that normally costs a lot to ship.

2. DickBlick.com

Archival tape (to tape the back and front of mats together).  Archival tabs for attaching the print to the backing.  And of course, mats.  They are only missing one size mat that I need, 7.5 inch x 11.5 inch opening on 16 x 20 mat.  But I’ve only found custom places to do that, so I ended up buying 7.5 x 11.5 opening on 12 x 16 mat which seems to be the standard that everyone has.  Clear bags. And other odds and ends such as blades, erasers for removing a smudge on a mat, yes they also have white gloves, and their website is easy to use and keep track of your orders.  Nowhere as fast in terms of turnaround time as ULINE but nobody is that fast.

3. LightImpressionsDirect.com

They are expensive.  I only use them for some archival item that is a one-time order only.  But on the other hand, they have a wide selection of easy to assemble frames, and once in a while I’ll point a customer in their direction.

4. ShadesOfPaper.com

All my paper and ink comes from them.  They are located in Jersey and for me, this means that I always get next day service even with Fedex ground.  Their customer service is the best.  They regularly have sales, and the owner informs me when new beta fine art papers are coming out, which is how I ended up being a beta tester for the Crane/Museo silver rag.

Given that they are shipping expensive paper, it’s important to note that I have never received a damaged shipment from them (and I’ve been with them now for a long time).  Best thing – is when they have a paper sale.  Example, when they did a sale on Epson Fiber Gloss F paper a few months ago, they had limited it to two sizes.  It was a nice juicy sale price, something like 40% off, and I called and asked if there was any way they could offer the same discount on the larger (24×30) paper, and sure enough, they got back to me within a few minutes and said – no problem.  I really stocked up then – though I’m going through the big paper faster than expected and hoping they’ll have another Epson paper sale soon.

They also get five Beckerman stars.  Both for turnaround time, and for friendly customer service.  They are geared towards the fine art printer – rather than the typical consumer of inkjet paper.  So they are a good place to check when new fine art papers are announced.

5. WestCoastImaging.com

And when I get an order for a print that is larger than I can do (my printer can go up to 24 inches wide by whatever length), I use West Coast Imaging.  Again, I can only say that they are professionals who are used to dealing with finicky artists (myself included) and I personally like them because they are perfectionists.  Example, just recently I had to do a 40 x 60 inch print and I also needed it rushed.  They turned the thing around in a few days (on silver rag paper) and called me to say that the print they had done the night before had some flaws in it, and that they were going to reprint it.  I mean – that’s what I’m looking for.  A lab that will take the time to do it right because frankly, half the time I am drop shipping the print directly to the customer who may have paid a thousand dollars or more for the print.  And after several years with them, I’m confident enough to have them take the last look at it before it goes to the customer.

Once you get into pro labs, I’m sure there are many that are equally good – but they are worth mentioning because I have had nothing but good experiences with them; and if you want an example of professional packaging – order a large print from them.

It’s taken a long time to learn which suppliers to use, and so I just thought I’d pass it on to you.  Feel free to add other suppliers that you’ve used and are very happy with. I’m not including places like B&H for the obvious reason that they are well known and not really in the supply business; though of course I get all my camera gear from them.

Make personalized gifts at Zazzle.

The benefit for me of the Zazzle store is that once the products are designed, my job is done. I strongly recommend them for other photographers who are looking for promotional gifts for their own sites; or trinkets to send to customers along with prints. I made a bunch of mistakes in terms of organizing things when I first started, so here’s the main thing: spend the time to upload the largest images you are going to use. Read the rest of this entry »

Usually HDR (high dynamic range) technique is used with static objects as a way of expanding the dynamic range of an image (i.e. you take a series of shots and over and under expose them and then let PS combine then), but it has potential for capturing movement as well.  This is made up of five tripod shots of Shea being taken down and simply running it through the HDR process.

Essentially, you can use it to keep the static stuff and just fill in the things that are moving which is what happens in this sequence.

While I was cleaning and moving furniture around this morning, what should I find but a returned order.  Returns are rare, and I can remember each one, and even without opening the package when I saw the name, it all flashed back to me.

It began with a telephone conversation from an office manager in Idaho.  This  was back in the day  when I had just begun selling inkjets with the Epson 4800 on silver rag .  The manager questioned me repeatedly on whether I was selling photographs or posters.  I assured her that these were inkjet prints of a very high quality.  She remained doubtful.  I told her I would send her the prints and if she didn’t like them, then I would gladly pay her return shipping charges.

And sure enough, she called to tell me that she had received the prints and that they looked like posters.  I paid for the return and when it came back put the mailer behind the file cabinet without opening it.

So this morning I open the package to find two beautiful prints in perfect condition that I have probably sold a hundred or more times since then with the same setup – well I switched to the 7800 but still the same effect.  So that was 2005.  Here we are in 2010, and I can’t remember the last time someone complained that I was selling posters, or inkjets.

Photographers back then couldn’t figure out what in the world to call the prints.  The most popular idea was to call them Giclée prints.  My own tactic was to call them prints, but to be honest with anyone that wanted to know how they were produced.

In the collectors world, I suspect that the photograph still rules, although it’s even more complicated than before since you can expose the paper to LEDs and push them through the chemicals by machine, and that is certainly a photograph.

It’s really the same partly true maxim, it’s not the camera it’s the photographer.  I say partly true because the camera sets limits on what you can and can’t capture.  But assuming that the photographer has the right camera for their type of work, then the maxim does hold true.  And it is the same thing with printers.  In fact, creating an expressive inkjet print is technically more complex (yes, that’s my actual opinion) than producing an expressive darkroom print.   More complex in that there are many more factors determining the output.  Maybe that’s an issue for another day.

Back to the point.  Nowadays the two prints I just looked at are ready to go out to another customer who will not question how they were made but will ask what is the best frame for them.   And the days of having to dissemble about how they were made are over.

Well anyway, my drying system is all set and I have a few days to do 25 large prints for two clients.  It’s funny – I ended up putting my file cabinet in a closet.  That removed the first jumping point for the cat to reach the loft.  Poor guy.  But there’s a little bit more room now to walk around, and I’m ready to hit the print button (well actually the nozzle check button).